Norfolk council to keep 'West Germany' sign

A Norfolk council has said it has no plans to alter a sign marking its twin links with a town in "West Germany". The sign, on the A47, was put up after Dereham joined forces with Ruthen in the mid 1980s.

The town council considered removing it but decided the £2,000 cost was too expensive. Germany was unified in 1990. Town clerk Tony Needham said: "It was thought the benefit didn't outweigh the cost of doing it."



Mr Needham said signs are only replaced by the Highways Agency if they were broken or rusted. It also names the town as East Dereham, even though the town has been known simply as Dereham for many years.

When the sign is finally replaced, Mr Needham said the council would make sure the word "East" was also removed. Town councillor Ann Bowyer said: "It's not good. It should have been changed at the time the (Berlin) Wall came down."